Chapter 27

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Chapter 27: Second Time

Marion wandered on the battlefield.

This place used to be a dense forest, but the Magic Cannon tore open a barren land, looking like a scar on the earth from above. The Amazonian and Skeleton Soldier carried away the wounded, dragged the bodies, picked up salvageable weapons, but there were still all kinds of debris piled here.

The Worgen girl searched through the scattered wood and stones on the ground. The sharp objects in the debris left white marks on her hands—since undergoing a natural baptism, Marion’s skin on her hands became tougher and more flexible like the pads of a wild animal, not easily scratched by gravel. A few days ago on the battlefield, she finally had the long-awaited battle, her natural sharp claws and fangs tearing enemies into pieces. The sensation of becoming a wolf made Marion’s blood boil, even though it had been days since it happened, just the thought made her skin itch.

But now was not the time to reminisce about that.

She ran across the battlefield, searching everywhere for lost items, each fruitless search making her hate herself more. As Marion transformed into a wolf in the chaos of battle, the wild instinct made her forget about shedding anything, all scattered on the battlefield like the torn skirt.

She found some uncollected limbs, these pieces had started to decay, but without insects, creatures avoided this area affected by the Magic Cannon’s power. She found some bloody pieces of cloth, some metal fragments unidentifiable from any armor or weapon, these things would eventually turn to dust in the wind and sun. The ground was very dry, all plant roots lost, the surface quickly becoming dry and loose. The loose soil was lifted by the wind, slowly erasing traces on the ground, perhaps after a while, the forgotten items on the battlefield would disappear.

Marion found her mother’s tooth under a dry tree stump at the edge of the battlefield, the string passing through it was nowhere to be found. She carefully picked it up, wiped off the dust with the hem of her clothes, and held the tooth tightly in her hand.

She knelt there for a while, hoping to find another item kicked here. But there was only this one tooth in the thatch, not another one.

Marion didn’t find Angaso lion’s tooth all night.

"This is for you!" the golden-haired Amazon girl said. "Don’t refuse, anyway I will get one in the future."

She was wrong; this young warrior died in battle, never living to the age to use a sword and shield or getting the chance to hunt the Angaso lion. Her name was Eunice, she preferred swords over bows, was brave in face-to-face combat but not skilled in hiding, liked fish, and had a four-year-old sister. Eunice loved her sister very much and said she would be her sword teacher in two years.

Eunice was Marion’s new friend. She joked with Marion, touched her ear, and gave her a beloved pendant. Eunice told her when the fish in the creek of Angaso Forest was the plumpest ("but sometimes you have to snatch food from a bear’s mouth, bear mothers with cubs are not easy to deal with."), and which rolled-up tree leaves could be used as a whistle. Marion was thrilled by the friendliness of the Amazonians and felt they could be great friends, hunting, training, and fighting side by side. She tied the lion tooth pendant around her wrist, silently vowing to keep this precious gift forever.

It seemed that things she wanted to keep never stayed for long.

Marion knelt on the ground, doubting she would ever find that pendant again. There was a discomforting feeling on the battlefield, and after searching half the night, she felt exhausted. Marion couldn’t help but recall other things she had lost: half of her new friends, her mother, her father, her tribe. It was always like this, almost cursed, everything she loved always left her, only differing in how long it took. Unending anxiety resurfaced in her blood, Marion feared that what she had left would soon disappear, leaving her alone and lost, with nowhere to belong.

Mom, she thought, what should I do? What would you do if you were here?

Mother’s tooth sank into the skin of her palm, and naturally, she received no answer.

Marion heard footsteps.

She stayed on the ground for most of the night. Now, before the morning light arrived, the round moon in the west was still very bright. In the quiet and deserted battlefield, a figure emerged from the shadows, with the moonlight shining on this creature.

The pale skull reflected the moonlight.

It looked like a woman, but above her neck was only a smooth skull. It was the head of a wolf, recognized immediately by Marion. The tribe hung the wolf’s skull in the shaman’s tent, offered it under the Worgen God’s stone pillar, and depicted it in storytelling murals. The Worgen God, with a wolf’s head on a human body, strolled under the full moon, while the Ancestor Spirit, led by wolf bones, wandered in the night… Marion didn’t believe these legends, telling herself that they were just tricks to deceive children. But now, the Worgen girl was staring blankly at her, just like when they were young.

"Second time." Tasha said. "This is the second time you’ve called me ‘mom.’"

Marion was speechless, only reacting sharply when the other person approached. "Adult," she said awkwardly, quickly getting up, feeling that nothing she said could make this situation less awkward. "You… you have changed a lot."

Her master smiled—a smile, perhaps. The upper and lower jaws of the skull moved slightly, making a faint clicking sound. How could a bone make a sound like that? It seemed to reach Marion’s ears directly. There were two red flames flickering steadily in the eye sockets of the wolf skull. Marion dare not look for long and lowered her head.

"Are you looking for this?"

A slender hand unfolded, revealing a conical tooth lying in the palm. Angaso lions may not be large in size, but their canine teeth are long and sharp, resembling miniature ice picks.

Marion stood still for a few seconds, nodding repeatedly. She gazed at the precious treasure she had found, unable to say anything but nod. She even forgot to move, just stood there dumbfounded. Tasha waited for a while, lifted Marion’s hand, and placed the pendant in her hand.

Despite the skull on her head, those hands were warm, even the teeth had a hint of warmth. Marion felt her eyes stinging inexplicably, so she took a deep breath to calm herself down. She was not someone who cried easily; she had held back when she lost so much, even until this recent time…

These hands touched her ears.

Her mistress chuckled softly, her hoarse gentle voice always sounded so calm, as if nothing was worth worrying about in her eyes. She gently rubbed Marion’s ear, saying, "So soft, just as I imagined."

Tears suddenly started to fall.

Whether it was because fear and sadness had reached their limit, or those hands were as warm as the hands of friends and loved ones in her memories, Marion suddenly couldn’t hold back. She bit her lip, bowed her head, letting the tears fall silently to the ground. She thought she was quiet and discreet enough, but her shoulders and ears were trembling fiercely. Tasha reached out to hold her, and Marion began to cry uncontrollably.

Marion had once again been too loud in her thoughts; her pain, anxiety, and self-blame were all laid bare. Tasha, inexperienced in comforting such a child, could only pat her back. The Worgen girl’s body temperature was higher than Tasha’s; she buried herself in her embrace as she cried. Tasha felt like she was holding a sad, squirming little puppy. Finally, Marion found her place in Tasha’s shoulder hollow, resting her head there as she sobbed, while Tasha rubbed her ears and patted her head.

"I’m not usually like this," Marion said, hiccuping through tears, "I’m not."

"It’s okay," Tasha said, "you’re just sixteen, little girl."

When the sky in the east started to brighten, Tasha took Marion, who had stopped crying, back to the dungeon. Marion looked at the wet spot on Tasha’s shoulder and felt so ashamed that she wanted to hide. Tasha told her to go back to sleep and gently touched her head (Marion’s hair and the fur on her ears were very soft), and Marion unconsciously rubbed her palm.

"Do you fancy her?" Victor said sarcastically, "She belongs completely to you, there’s no need to waste time on this."

"So talking to demons without any ulterior motives is the same as asking for sexual favors?" Tasha asked, "I pity your dull spiritual world."

"Don’t change the subject, spending the whole night on such boring matters! Have you forgotten that there is a whole human world outside waiting to be dealt with? What are you waiting for?" Victor said.

"Waiting for daylight."

"What?" Victor asked, puzzled.

"After all," Tasha said, "Humans don’t work at night."

——————————

In Deer Horn Town, the easternmost human town in the Angaso region, the mayor who started work early looked at the message on the arrows that appeared at the office, with a very unhappy expression.

The government hall is located in the center of the town, a place that represents the authority of the Aryan Empire with the best facilities and excellent protection. Surprisingly, an arrow was boldly pinned on the mayor’s chair, piercing through the back of the chair. If the mayor had been sitting there at the time, or if the arrow had landed on the mayor’s bed…

He swallowed hard, cursing the soldiers stationed here in his heart. Deer Horn Town is one of Colonel Benson’s military bases, where officers can boss the mayor around. But when they fail to control the cursed demon descendants causing chaos and putting the mayor’s life at risk, it’s just so unreasonable.

The mayor tried to pull out the arrow but couldn’t. He called a guard to remove it, and upon inspection, he felt overwhelmed. "Your cannons were intercepted"? "Captured officers revealed the activation method"? All these things were beyond his authority. Wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, the mayor grimly ordered the staff to prepare to inform the colonel’s carriage.

Unlike most locals, the mayor had heard of "cannons" and didn’t want them turning towards his area of responsibility. He hoped the military would be reasonable and not continue the war in the face of such a terrible threat, but based on what he knew of the colonel…

"Threaten me?" Colonel Benson sneered, "Humans never compromise with Hybrids!"

…See.

"But sir, the previous military campaigns, even with the use of cannons, unfortunately, failed," the mayor said cautiously, "Survivors claim the whole forest has become alive, and recently, many woodcutters have reported rapid tree growth. Maybe there’s a powerful demon there? Shouldn’t we seek approval from the higher-ups and request more reinforcements?"

"Are you suggesting we don’t have the ability to independently deal with the tumor in our own region?" Colonel Benson glared coldly at him.

The mayor immediately shook his head, laughing awkwardly.

"The active trees, hmph, pretending to be mysterious, are just remnants of the Druid," said Colonel Benson.

"Ah, Sir, you are truly knowledgeable and talented!" the mayor flattered, forcing out a smile, "About the Druid…"

"We had a solution for those tree-playing charlatans hundreds of years ago," he walked to the window with hands behind his back, gazing at the forest, "One failure is just an accident, such trivial matters are not worth disturbing General Hillman."